What We Do When We Watch Live Sports: An Analysis of Concurrent Viewing Behaviors

Using an active audience perspective, this study examines the wide-ranging in-person and second-screen behaviors that occur while viewing live sports. A national sample of participants ( N  = 630) was surveyed about their live sports viewing behaviors while watching a normal game, a close game, and...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal of sport communication 2021-06, Vol.14 (2), p.153-167
Main Authors: Lewis, Nicky, Gantz, Walter, Wenner, Lawrence A.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Affluence
Games
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Summary:Using an active audience perspective, this study examines the wide-ranging in-person and second-screen behaviors that occur while viewing live sports. A national sample of participants ( N  = 630) was surveyed about their live sports viewing behaviors while watching a normal game, a close game, and one where the outcome was clear. Viewers concurrently engaged in a variety of game-related and unrelated activities, many involving additional screens and a social dimension (e.g., talking about the game with others in person and through media, hanging out with family/friends). Games that were not close encouraged more activity than games that were close. Sports fanship was positively associated with game-related behaviors but not unrelated behaviors. In all, live sports viewing involves a wide array of simultaneous in-person and second-screen activity, with some of that activity focused on the sporting events themselves, and other activities focused on meeting the responsibilities of daily life.
ISSN:1936-3915
1936-3907
DOI:10.1123/ijsc.2020-0270